Mercy

[10.26.00] » by Gogo the Mime

The blood-red sun was slowly setting in the sky and as its rays of light poured down on the earth like tears, it seemed to be mourning for the soon death of the world it had given light to for so many millennia. It reminded Rose of the her dark past as she and her six companions tread on through the wasteland of the desert.

Rose was a warrior with the Dark Dragon Dragoon Spirit. Her dark-purple armor, which gleamed in the sun's light, covered her body from shoulders to hips. On each foot a dark-purple leather boot with the left one going up to her thigh and the right going up a little above her knee and on her hands a pair of leather, purple gloves. She had snow-like skin and her jet black hair went down to her lower back. Her face held an emotionless gaze with her grey eyes that would strike fear into most people's heart without her even trying.

Every 108 years, the moon child was to be born and bring a miraculous gift to the world from the god, Soa. That gift was the cleansing of the world or better known as its total annihilation. It had been Rose's duty for so long, with the help of the choker that she has worn around her neck, to destroy the moon child every 108 years to prevent this disaster. But somehow, somehow after her complete destruction of Neet as the "Black Monster", she had failed and let the moon child, known as Shana, live and now in the hands of her lover and enemy, Zieg.

The feeling of defeat was going through Rose's entire body like a geyser, ready to cause her anger at herself to explode at any moment. Her grip tightened around her short sword's hilt as anger ran through her body from head to toe to the point where she wanted to kill something.

How could I have failed....it was my duty to prevent this, Rose sadly thought to herself.

Rose's thoughts were interrupted as a command was made by their leader from the top of a sand dune. "Albert, there's an oasis north of us, you and the others go ahead an rest while I stay behind and keep watch and make sure we haven't been followed."

Albert was the king of Serdio and the holder of the Jade Dragon Dragoon Spirit. He had brown hair, that went down to the bottom of his shoulders and hazel colored eyes. He wore a royal outfit that had a light-green tunic, a silver chest plate, and brown pants. He also wore a dark-green cape that covered his shoulders and went down to his to his heels. He had a pair of brown, leather gauntlets on his hands and a pair of brown, leather boots that went up to his thighs on each foot. In his right hand he carried his spear that he learned to use from his long, dead friend Lavitz.

Albert and the others seemed relieved and Rose had to admit she wouldn't mind a rest herself. They had traveled for many days across the desert and all of them were tired from both the travel and the battles. The others sprinted north leaving Rose, Albert, and their leader behind.

Rose started to follow Albert, when suddenly she heard their leader said in a voice full of venom but not much louder than a whisper, "Rose, wait....I need to "talk" with you."

Albert was about to object, but received a look from their leader that silenced him. He turned to Rose, hesitated, then decided to listen and turned to follow the others, probably remembering she could take care of herself. I always have and I always will.

After Albert was out of sight, Rose turned to meet their leader's gaze. He was a warrior who possessed the Red-eyed Dragon Dragoon Spirit. He had mesmerizing blue eyes, brown hair that was in a sort of odd spike style, and a plan red bandana upon his brow. He had red armor that covered his entire upper body, including his left arm down to its knuckles, but his right arm was only armored to his shoulder, leaving the rest bare, so he could have more maneuverability with his sword. On his right hand he wore a tattered, brown, leather glove that covered his entire hand except his fingers and it had a silver chain around his wrist. He wore black pants with red, armored knee guards and a brown, leather belt that went his pelvis twice with a brown scabbard attached to the left side to hold his sword. He also wore a pair of brown, leather boots on his feet. His name was Dart.

I suppose if I hadn't been to hell and back, I'd be afraid right now. Only silence could be heard for a moment between the two, then Dart broke the silence by taking his sword from his scabbard and merely saying, "Take your sword."

Rose didn't hesitate, she tightened her grip on her short sword and raised slightly at her side, ready to either defend or attack. Dart bent his knees slightly and held the sword with its blade upward firmly with his two hands but loose enough so he could maneuver with it. Then they engaged.

At first it was nothing but a mere trade of blows with the most simple attacks, blocks, and parries. But then, Dart suddenly started getting more fierce with his attacks, performing more complicated moves, which Rose easily matched with her skills. The battle reminded her of her fight with Zieg, thousands and thousands of years ago, when they had been comrades and lovers. That battle had ended with both of them exhausted, but in each others' arms. I doubt this battle will end like that.

Then, Dart's sword suddenly came down fast and hard, colliding their blades together with a enough force to cause a burst of sparks and made Rose loose her balance, almost knocking her to the ground. Almost.

"What's the matter?" Dart jeered at her with a venom filled voice. "Can the "Black Monster" only fight back when her opponent doesn't stand a chance."

With that, Rose grinded her teeth, made a firm grip on her short sword with two hands, and charged at him with anger. I think you need to be humbled a little, Dart. Their swords met with more sparks and each collision of blades afterward sounded like the pounding of a war gong that echoed across the desert.

Rose managed knock Dart's sword out of the way far enough, so she could quickly kick him in the stomach with her right boot. He stumbled back a step, but came back faster and more fierce than before. The blades' clangs sounded more like a distant war cry with each second.

"Why did you burn Neet to the ground!" Dart yelled at her.

"I already told you!" Rose spat back. "The moon child needed to be destroyed to prevent the birth of the god of destruction. If I'd had succeeded then, we wouldn't be on this journey to stop Zieg now!"

"That doesn't matter!" Dart retorted. "Couldn't there have been a way to do it without taking all those lives? Why did you have to burn it to the ground? Why did you have to kill everyone that didn't escape?! Why did you have to kill my MOTHER?!!"

Rose couldn't answer as guilt went through her body like a poison from Dart's grief and the tears that fell from his eyes. I have no reason for what I did to the innocent.

With a quick slash, Rose knocked his blade down and charged to thrust into his stomach for the kill. However, that never happened. Dart quickly side-stepped to his left and thrust his sword in at her right hand, piercing the glove's thick leather and driving into the side of her hand. With a yowl, she lost her grip on the sword and reflexively pulled her hand back.

As the sword hit the ground, Rose tried to dive for it, but stopped when the tip of Dart's sword hovered about a half-inch away from the middle of her neck. Defeat, again, welled up inside of her as she straightened her body.

I...I lost! Disbelief ran through Rose as her eyes and Dart's met. The tears were gone from his eyes, but the devastation was still there. "You've become strong," was all she could manage to say. "Do it."

Dart's blade lowered to the center of Rose's breast. She closed her eyes as she prepared for the deathblow. The pounding of her heart and the throbbing from the wound on her right hand could be felt with the sudden stop of adrenaline. I have no reason for what I did to the innocent, she sadly thought to herself again. Her death never came. Rose opened her eyes as she heard the sound of Dart placing his sword back into its scabbard. Before she could even form her question, he walked to her and said, "Your hurt," as if he had just noticed.

Dart led Rose over to two rocks that served as their seats and he went through his item sack attached to the belt on its left side as she stared at him with a bewildered look. He gently took her right hand and set it on his lap, palm up, as he went to work.

Dart gently peeled the blood-stained glove off Rose's hand and though it hurt a little when it came to the point of the cut, she kept her hand still since she had experienced much worse pain. He tossed the glove to the ground, then took a clean cloth, and gently wiped the blood around and on the cut. The cut was right one the side of her hand below the pinky. She guessed the cut was about a quarter-inch deep. When he got enough of the blood off, he discarded the cloth, retrieved a new one and some medicine, and put it on the cloth. He then gently wiped on and around the wound to prevent any infections. Finally, he gently tied a bandage around her hand.

Rose checked the bandage, tightened it to prevent any blood from getting through, then looked up to Dart's face and asked, "Why?"

Dart looked up to the night sky, as if the answer could be found there, then sighed and answered, "Killing you won't bring them back. They're gone and hopefully they're now in a better place." His face returned to gaze at her face. Then said, "I thought I had learned that revenge only leads to more sorrow from Lavitz, but I guess I never really did. Now, though, I think I understand."

Dart stood up and walked over to retrieve Rose sword, then came back and handed it to her. Then, he smiled his first time in a while and said, "We'd better catch up with the others or else Haschel will think we had a "moment".

"That pervert would think a dragon and a wingly had a moment if they were gone to long," Rose stated as she stood up.

Dart chuckled and said, "All the more the reason to hurry up."

Rose nodded and followed him as they followed their comrades. As they walked, she realized she herself had learned a lesson she thought she once knew.

Mercy.

-FINI